AP

A review of J. C. Ryle, The Christian Race and Other Sermons, Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1900, reprinted 2025.

            Here we have a collection of 24 sermons from J. C. Ryle, first published in 1900, the year of his death. The title is taken from the twelfth sermon in the book, on Hebrew 12:1,2. Rather than review the book, I thought it would be worthwhile to also glean from it not only lessons for the Christian life but, for the pastors among us, lessons on how we are to preach it. Many of these points will overlap with one another.

Some characteristics of his theology and his style

            Ryle would often – but by no means invariably – divide his sermon into three or four points, which he declared near the beginning of his address (e.g. pp.88, 124, 175, 216, 264, 278, 292). This is in contrast to some preachers who prefer not to announce their points beforehand. Ryle was not totally locked into a three-point sermon, and on Hebrews 12:1,2 he preached under five points (p.138).

            Possessing a way with words, Ryle could express theological and spiritual truths in a memorable way. The place of suffering was tackled: ‘well for us that we are constrained to drink the bitter cup of affliction; it is the rod by which many are brought home to Christ, – none are in such fearful peril as those who have never known a cross.’ (p.164) More serious than suffering is the subject of sin. He believed that the saints of God have days of dark sin (pp.165-166). Death too was not a trifle to be ignored or treated with complacency: ‘Believe me, Jordan is a cold stream to cross alone.’ (p.300) Assurance may not come all at once and it may be lost; David and Peter both lost it and found it again (p.309). Yet there is a certain whimsicality in his comment on old age: ‘We see all the weakness of childhood without its playfulness and light heart.’ (p.164)

Avoiding a textbook style, Ryle set out the issues of justification, sanctification and assurance. ‘There are degrees in our sanctification. In justification there are none.’ (p.297) The right use of contrasts makes for vivid preaching: ‘Faith is that poor trembling woman, who came behind Jesus in the press, and touched the hem of his garment; assurance is Stephen standing calmly in the midst of his murderers, and saying, “I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.”’ (pp.297-298) Many believers are slothful about growing in grace (p.306). The Puritans had a maxim: ‘Faith of adherence comes by hearing, but faith of assurance comes not without doing.’ (p.306)

            The Christian walk is by no means straight forward. We are our own worst enemies: ‘There is no folly like soul-folly.’ (p.177) There are dangers everywhere. ‘If a man will become a decided evangelical Christian he must make up his mind to lose the world’s favours; he must be content to be thought by many a perfect fool.’ (p.187) ‘And, brethren, if ever you would have your souls saved, we tell you plainly there are many adversaries’ (p.240). Christian warfare is not straightforward, for the devil can lead, ‘gently and softly, one step at a time’ (p.242). ‘Watch against the sin of Jehu: a man may have great zeal from false motives. It is a much easier thing to oppose antichrist than to follow Christ.’ (p.193)

            In theology, he rejected post-millennialism without naming it (p.176), and opted for the pre-millennial view that the Old Testament prophecies concerning Israel are literal (p.182). Yet he never lost track of the central issues of the gospel. On the parable of the wise and foolish virgins he promised: ‘I shall keep to those points which it most concerns you and me to know.’ (p.174) He was no Donatist in his view of the Church which, he was sure, would always be a mixed body: ‘Till the Bridegroom comes there will always be wise and foolish in the church.’ (p.176) We do not comprehend all things here on earth, so, appropriately, Ryle quotes the whole of Cowper’s hymn ‘God Moves in a Mysterious Way’ (pp.237-238).

            Ryle was both evangelistic and missionary-minded. One of the sermons is one that he preached at a CMS meeting, where he mentioned India, Canada, and Australia as places of missionary interest (pp.200-201). This should be a vital concern for the Christian, for ‘He that has no zeal about the souls of others can have but little about his own.’ (p.203) Indeed, praying ‘Thy kingdom come’ and not helping it forward is like seeing a brother in need and shutting out compassion (p.203). He reminded his people that the church building would crumble, but the dead shall be raised up (p.227).

Ryle was a little like Charles Simeon in that his Calvinism was real, but he felt no need to filter every text through an immovable Reformed grid. He referred to Revelation 3:20 in broad terms, for example. ‘To me it does appear the most extraordinary verse in the whole Bible.’ (pp.249-250) Here the Son of God is ‘trying to prevail on unbelieving man to forsake destruction, and become an heir to everlasting life.’ (pp.250-251) The lesson, he thought, is clear: ‘I know not any stronger proof that God is most willing and anxious to save men, and that men are naturally unwilling to be saved, than you will find contained in these words.’ (p.251) The text is applied to three kinds of hearer: the really unconverted; the inquirer; and the true Christian (p.258).

Preach with depth and simplicity

Ryle preached simply and directly, often using short sentences. He tends to leap into the lessons to be learnt with little reference to any context. In three sermons on regeneration from John 3:3, Nicodemus is not mentioned. Occasionally, he strays from the text but not the topic, so he gives 8 marks of regeneration in his third sermon on John 3:3, and these come from all over Scripture. His sermons are certainly not just the ‘information dumps’ that can be delivered from some orthodox pulpits, but sometimes a little more context would be in order.

Ryle makes cogent use of illustrations and contrasts, which render his sermons vivid and fresh. Examples could be multiplied. He fills in the characters and motives, as with the publican and the Pharisee in Luke 18:9-14. The sermon has flesh and blood in it, and he draws well on Christ’s own use of contrast. He is no shallow moralist, and so refers to self-righteousness as ‘the subtlest enemy of all’ (p.95).

Preaching from Mark 6:34 on the compassion of Jesus, Ryle began with an account of consumptives (those with tuberculosis) going to the mild climate of Madeira to try to glean a few years’ health (p.195). Knowing death is near, they often treat one another with kindness (pp.195-196). Ryle uses the common ‘from the lesser to the greater’ (a fortiori) argument that we ought therefore to be more concerned with the issue of eternal life. In a statement with great relevance to today’s Western secularism, he noted that ‘without Christianity there is no real morality’ (p.200).

The sermon on John 3:16 ought to be read by anybody who dares to preach on it. And his sermon on Matthew 11:28 is a model of warm-hearted gospel presentation. ‘You will never come to Christ till you feel your need.’ (p.61) Jesus calls not those who are fit for Him, but those who are labouring and heavy laden. Those who are happy without Christ are said to have the happiness of a tradesman who is bankrupt and does not look at his books (p.67). He had an ear for apt illustrations. It has been well said that the heart of the natural man is like the inn of Bethlehem – every guest can find room but not the Saviour of the world (p.252).

Ryle’s style is that of the sermon, not the academic treatise: ‘Verily the weakest child of God has got more durable riches in his hand than the wealthiest man of the world that ever breathed.’ (p.308) His language has depth, but could also be remarkably simple, as when he stated that things can look ‘bright and sunshiny’ but days of darkness will come (p.208). Yet there was no need for the believer to wallow in fear. Accordingly, Ryle spoke to inculcate gospel confidence in the souls of believers: ‘Not all the powers of darkness shall avail to quench one single spark of real gospel faith.’ (p.119) 

In preaching on the Good Shepherd in John 10:27-28, Ryle set out some characteristics of sheep: they are meek; they are useful; they love to be together; and they are most helpless (pp.97-103). Hence when Christ calls His people ‘My sheep’, He is doing so by election and by adoption. He dealt with John 10:27-28 in two parts, and he expected the congregation to hear both parts on the one Lord’s Day, if possible. Hence he stated: ‘About the first part of this text, beloved, I spoke to you this morning.’ (p.111) When he came to the expression: ‘I know them’, he explained that Christ was saying: ‘I know their number, their names, their particular characters, their besetting sins, their troubles, their trials, their temptations, their doubts, their prayers, their private meditations’ (p.113). No hearer could feel excluded.

Speak directly to the congregation

Ryle made a point of saying that George Whitefield never used the indefinite  expression ‘we’.[1] That may give us the wrong impression of Ryle’s preaching, – and Whitefield’s for that matter. Ryle often preached using ‘you’, not ‘we’, but he also used the first person, as when he spoke of the Jews: ‘they had the root of all the evil within them, they were men like ourselves’ (p.5). He did not adopt a posture of moral superiority. In fact, he would often address his congregation as ‘beloved’ (pp.46, 137, 202, 211, 212, 224) or ‘brethren’ (e.g. pp.177, 187, 277, 279, 298, 303, 306), or individually as ‘friend’ (p.212).

Statistics can be misleading. The prevalence of ‘you’ does not indicate a lack of warmth in the tone of a sermon. In setting out the promise of heaven to believers, Ryle comforted and wooed his people: ‘O Christian brethren, well may the Bible tell you, “Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord, for they rest from their labour.” Surely you must feel that witness is true.’ (p.280) His language is ‘I entreat you, all of you’ (p.96). He told those who only gave religion a few Sunday thoughts that they were not running the race (see Heb.12:1-2). As to whether this were true or not, he stated: ‘I leave the answer with yourselves: judge ye what I say.’ (p.139) He desired to make it clear that the real preacher was the Lord, not the bishop. So on Revelation 21:27, he spoke firmly but personally: ‘I must deliver my Master’s message and diminish nothing; the line I have to draw is not mine, but God’s: the blame, if you will lay it, falls on the Bible, not on me.’ (p.282)

In Mark 8:36, Jesus warns against gaining the whole world, and losing one’s own soul. Ryle saw this as basic to the Christian faith, and so spoke directly: ‘Mark now what I am about to say, and listen to my proofs.’ (p.206) He pressed his hearers hard on this text, but assured them that he raised this ‘in love and charity towards you’ (p.207). He confessed that he could use ‘sharp words’ (p.215) in describing those who want to go to heaven but have no concern as to how to get there. Sharp words in such circumstances are not unloving. On the rebirth, he confronted his hearers: ‘Have you gone through that mighty change?’ (p.212) His appeal is not easily evaded: ‘O beloved, be merciful to yourselves.’ (p.214)

Many preachers address their congregations as though everyone present is a Christian. That is a way to maintain a dangerous spiritual slumber. Ryle refused to adopt such a stance: ‘I know that some fancy that we should address you all as good Christian people. I for one will never do so, and I know not how anyone can do it with the Bible in his hands.’ (p.177) Further on in the same sermon he urged to people not to be as the five foolish virgins: ‘The very gravestones you walk past this night are witnessing against you’ – they are saying that life is short, and you need to be awake. (p.192)

The Christian way was both easy and hard. Struggles are inevitable: ‘The purest gold is that which has been longest in the refiner’s furnace.’ (p.266) We are not skating on easy street: ‘our very weeping is a proof of sin.’ (p.273) ‘No empty trust in God’s mercy will ever save you.’ (p.274) ‘Surely, brethren, it is worth a little pain, a little labouring, a little toil, if only we may have the lowest place in the kingdom of God.’ (p.281)

Press home the gospel appeal to sinners

The sermons are sprinkled with warm appeals. One of the first examples is: ‘But in the name of my most loving Master I offer to you a complete remedy; I proclaim to you the freest salvation. I entreat you not to reject it. Come unto Jesus: he came not to save the wise in their own eyes, but to seek that which was lost.’ (p.12; see too p.225)

There is a wooing as well as a challenging note throughout his preaching. He assured his hearers that no one ever sought Christ in vain (p.168). But he was not ‘soft’, and instead pressed home the truth that this life is both short and uncertain: ‘And what does each of you intend to say in that hour? What is the defence you are prepared to set up? What is the answer you propose to give?’ (p.69) On Jeremiah 23:6 he has three very well-structured points, and concludes to the awakened: ‘Go home, then, if you value your soul, and turn the words of the text into a prayer, and entreat the Lord to receive you and become your righteousness.’ (pp.69-83; quotation from p.83)

On the need for regeneration, Ryle declared: ‘I am set to preach Christ’s gospel and not my own. Search the Scriptures, and you will see it is true.’ (p.19) He was vigorous: ‘few indeed are the churches where we should not be constrained to cry, Lord, here are many called, but very few chosen.’ (p.21) There is no ‘easy believism’, but Ryle, like the prophet Hosea, does give words for the penitent to bring to God (p.226; see Hosea 14:1-3).

His appeals are wide and warm, welcoming and challenging, direct but not bullying:

This very day I set before the worst among you pardon and peace and immortality, without money and without price: I do not tell you to go and become saints, to go and live a new life before you can receive these blessings; I call upon you to return at once, with all your sins upon you, and lay them at your Saviour’s feet, and they shall be forgiven. (p.127)

On 2 Corinthians 6:1, he warned the congregation about those who go on ‘doubting and trifling and fault-finding till the end, and so be found among that wretched company who have received the grace of God in vain.’ (p.124) In the same vein, he warned: ‘beware of giving your ears to God but not your heart.’ (p.133)

On Matthew 22:42 (‘What think ye of Christ?’) the good bishop was blunt, without being offensive: ‘if you cannot give the answer God requires, I warn you, in love and tenderness, you are travelling on the broad way that leadeth to destruction.’ (p.150) He pointed to Christ as ‘the mainspring and subject of all Scripture’ (see the paragraph on pp.150-151). This was not, however, a Christ from a theology textbook, a subject – Christology – like any other subject, for ‘as far as your salvation is concerned Christ unapplied is no Christ at all.’ (p.155) Always adept at appropriate illustrations, Ryle said that knowing an unapplied Christ is like having the cure for the plague or typhus fever but not making use of it (p.155).

It would surely have been impossible to sit under Ryle’s preaching and miss the point of his preaching: ‘Go, blame me now for speaking sharply to you – think I am too particular if you like it – but, oh! remember if you ever stand without the gates, crying, “Lord, open to us” in vain, remember there was a time when I told you, the worldly-minded and the evil livers shall in no wise enter in.’ (p.284) The two sins that so easily beset us are pride and unbelief (p.142). Each of us has a besetting sin – ‘a traitor in his camp ready to open the gates to Satan’ (p.142). The only solution, he pressed upon his people was to ‘look unto Jesus’. The Christian faith was to be lived out not in monasteries but in day-to-day living, even as Daniel in the court of Darius the Mede (see Daniel 6:5). Ryle’s comment is that ‘It would be impossible, I think, to imagine a higher testimony to a man’s character than you have heard in these words.’ (p.229)

Never has the gospel of grace been proclaimed more clearly and with greater hope. Ryle pointed out that Enoch had no Bible, no prayer book, no religious tract, no church, no minister, no sacraments, no clear teaching on the way of salvation (p.218). Yet from the somewhat enigmatic promise of Genesis 3:15, Ryle considered it clear that ‘Enoch believed in the Lord Jesus Christ.’ (p.223) At the same time no man has pressed more urgently than Ryle on the need for holiness in the life of the professing Christian: ‘But know that if you cannot be saints on earth you never can be saints in heaven.’ (p.226) Grace and holiness belong together: ‘there are carnal persons who often take to themselves promises to which they have no claim; they feed on Christ’s sweet sayings, but they will not touch Christ’s commands; they forget that characters and promises are like lock and key, they fit one into the other, he that has not got the character has no part or portion in the promises, for what God has joined together must never be put asunder.’ (p.240)

The apostle Paul’s last words are also Ryle’s, at least in this collection of his sermons. He notes that in 2 Timothy 4:6-8 the apostle looks downwards, backwards, and forward (p.289). ‘Let us listen to him again,’ says Ryle (p.290) Ryle is a master at pastoral theology: ‘A good conscience will save no man, wash away no sin, lift us not one inch towards heaven. Yet a good conscience will be found a pleasant visitor at our bedsides in a dying hour.’ (p.290) He goes on to deal simply and vigorously with the doctrine of assurance (pp.292-296), and cites the words of Thomas Watson: ‘A letter may be written, which is not sealed; so grace may be written in the heart, yet the Spirit may not set the seal of assurance to it.’ (p.296)

Well might we learn from Ryle by analysing his sermons, but learn more by being sanctified through them.

–  Peter  Barnes

[1]  J. C. Ryle, Christian Leaders of the 18th Century,  Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, reprinted 1978, p.52.